


Not a word

by Multifandom_damnation



Category: Titans (TV 2018)
Genre: Animal Attack, Animal Transformation, Gen, I'm Bad At Tagging, Loss of Control, Missing Persons, Running Away, Self-Doubt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-05-18
Packaged: 2020-03-07 04:55:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18866134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Multifandom_damnation/pseuds/Multifandom_damnation
Summary: Dick was fast asleep with his hands wrapped around Kory and his legs tangled in the sheets when Rachel burst into his room, not even bothering to knock, with a frantic look on her face, her dark hair sleep-tousled and her eyes wild. Her voice left her in a rush before Dick could even ask what was happening. “Something’s wrong with Gar."(AKA Gar loses control of his powers one night and the tiger goes on a rampage that not even the others are able to stop.)





	Not a word

**Author's Note:**

> This might be strange but I really only wrote this because I know Gar not having green skin in the show has been a big deal (Like everything to do with Kory, but anyway) so this is just my way of making him green. I don't know. I feel like it would have to be some traumatic event to make it happen and this is the best I could come up with. Given the circumstances, I'm actually quite proud of this, and I like the way it turned out. Let me know what you think and thanks for reading. x

Dick was fast asleep with his hands wrapped around Kory and his legs tangled in the sheets when Rachel burst into his room, not even bothering to knock, with a frantic look on her face, her dark hair sleep-tousled and her eyes wild. Her voice left her in a rush before Dick could even ask what was happening. “Something’s wrong with Gar."  
  
And then Dick heard it. A low, guttural growl that slowly progressed into a shrieking roar that shook the windows. Kory jolted awake and gasped, rubbing at her eyes. "What the fuck is going on?"  
  
"I don't know," Dick threw the blankets off of his legs and winced as something in the other room shattered. "But it doesn't sound good."  
  
Rachel led the way to Garfield’s bedroom and listened tentatively at the door, one hand on the wood. Suddenly, she yanked her hand away as if it was cold to the touch. "He's scared," she whispered. "And angry. Part of him doesn't know what's going on but there’s something else inside him that is angry at _something_. I don't know..."  
  
"It's alright," Dick placed a hand on Rachel's shoulder and pushed her gently behind him and she went without a fuss. He glanced to Kory, who was already staring at the door in anticipation. The ends of her hair began to glow a deep red. "Kory." Dick gave her permission and she kicked the door in, one hand extended and flames licking at her fingers. The thin safe house door went flying across the room and shattered on contact with the wall, making Rachel flinch behind Dick at the loud impact.  
  
Maybe Dick was expecting another mid-nightmare transformation, Garfield's body twisted into the slowly forming tiger with green fur coating his skin and fangs bursting through his gums. Maybe he had expected Garfield to be sleepwalking, his mind stuck between the thoughts of both him and the tiger, both fighting for control. Hell, maybe he was hoping that it was all a dream that he was going to wake up from any minute now or that Rachel's instincts were wrong, that they were out of control and producing sounds and environments based on her emotions and if she would just calm down enough all of this would go back to normal.   
  
He was not at all expecting the room to look like a war zone, deep gashes in the wall and the bed broken in the middle, fluff and feathers still floating to the floor from the destroyed bedspreads. The bedside table was reduced to splinters and the TV had a hole in the screen. The carpet was torn to shreds and teeth-marks could be seen in the wood of a bedpost. The window was shattered and on the remaining shards of fractured glass that stuck up from the ledge, blood glistening in the glow of the overhead light.  
  
Slowly, Dick entered the room with his staff held cautiously before him, making sure he trod carefully on the broken glass that was scattered across the carpet. Kory followed after him, her arms were fallen to her side. Rachel shuffled uncomfortably at the threshold of the room, twisting the hem of her pyjama top in her hands. "What the fuck happened here?" Dick asked as he used the end of his bo to poke around the room.  
  
"Either way," Kory said as she picked around the remains of the bed. "It looks like the tiger won."  
  
"It feels wrong in here," Rachel's eyes darted around the room nervously. "Like something... fractured. Something at war."  
  
Dick grimaced as his exposed foot nearly slipped in a puddle of drool. “I know, Rach. We have to figure out what’s going on but I’m not sure we can do it tonight.” He waved at the window as he shook the spittle off of his foot. “It’s dark and we have no way of knowing where he went. We don’t even know how far he’s gone.”

Even before Dick had finished speaking, there was another, far off roar from somewhere out in the tree line and Kory was at the broken window before anyone could protest, one leg out of the room. “Come on,” She called as she disappeared into the darkness. “We have to find him and make sure he’s alright. Besides, who knows how much control he has? He could hurt anyone at any moment.”

Rachel was the first to follow her and with an inward sigh, Dick vaulted over the windowpane and trudged through the trees to cover enough ground, trying not to think about how dirty they were going to get the safe house when they finally crawled back into bed.

It took them hours before they finally gave up and stumbled their way back home, pyjamas caked in mud and leaves and feet blistered from where they had to scramble over rocks and unseen things in the dark. Rachel was sniffling softly and hugging her arms to her chest, her head bowed. Dick put a comforting hand on her arm as he and Kory followed her through the window. “He’ll be alright, Rachel. We’ll find him.”

“I know we will,” Rachel said, sitting heavily down on the remainder of the bed. “But do you think he’s going to be… Gar? Do you think he’s scared or confused or angry? Do you think he’s already changed back and he’s lost and trying to find a way home?”

“Who knows?” Kory shrugged from where she was trying to wipe the worst of the mud from her skin. “But what I do know is that we have to sleep if we want to find him. None of us can see in the dark so we should just wait until the sun comes up and go scouting again.”

They hustled Rachel into bed who did what she was told very reluctantly and she climbed into bed and Dick turning the lights off before she could complain, Kory closed the door behind her. When they were alone in the silence of the landing, Kory turned to Dick, who was worriedly scanning the floors. “What’s the bet that she’s going to sneak out to go looking for him?”

“She won’t,” Dick ran a hand down his face. “That’s not like her. I’m more worried about Gar at the moment. Who knows what could have happened and where’s he’s gone? I understand her worry.”

“I’m not worried about Gar,” Kory said, shaking her head, her curly hair cascading down her shoulders and hiding her face. “He’s a brave kid. Strong. If anyone could keep it together long enough for us to find him, it’ll be him. He’s been through a lot.”

Dick glanced at her with a critical eye, lips twisted. “You’re worried about something. If it’s not Gar, what is it?”

Kory’s face fell and darkened into something painful and hard. “If Gar really isn’t in control, I’m worried about whatever poor fuck the tiger finds first and decides that it’s sick of eating nothing but vegetables and tofu.”

* * *

 

When they detangled themselves from the blankets the next morning, they entered the living room and were met with Rachel, sat cross-legged on the floor, clutching Garfield’s favourite jacket close to her chest, eyes closed. “Rachel…” Kory said slowly as she carefully stepped into the room. “Have you been here all night?”

“I’ve been trying to find Gar,” Rachel replied without opening her eyes or moving from her position. “I think I’ve almost got him too, but I’m still not sure if it’s the tiger or him that I’m feeling.”

Dick scowled as he joined Kory in her approach, stepping tentatively around knocked over pieces of furniture and broken shards of glass. “I thought I told you to go to bed. Is there any distinct reason you didn’t listen or were you just feeling particularity defiant?”

He had hardly managed to get the words out of his mouth before Rachel opened her eyes and turned to him with an icy glare and Dick resisted taking a step back. It was only Rachel- right? “Well, someone had to start looking for him, considering we all just abandoned him in the dead of night forcing him to fend for himself.” She turned back to the jacket she was holding gently between her fingers. “Someone needed to get some headway on the search. If we’re going to bother searching for him at all, that is.”

Kory flinched at the bitterness in her voice. “Of course we’re gonna look for him, Rachel. We just couldn’t go last night because it was dark and raining. I told you we were going to search for him first thing this morning, and I meant that.”

“Yeah, but you also said that you weren’t worried about him,” Rachel said and Kory blinked, sharing a surprised look with Dick. “And that you said you were more worried about whoever the tiger could have hurt more than whatever state Gar could be in. Because you know that if anyone gets hurt, it’ll be the tiger's fault, not Gar’s. You know that, right?”

Biting his lip, Dick raised his hands in an attempt to placate her, because the room had suddenly dropped a few degrees colder than normal. “Yeah Rach, we know. We know.”

“Good,” Suddenly Rachel stood up from the centre of the wreckage, dusted herself off and looked pointedly at Dick and Kory. “Because I think I’ve found him. Get some of his spare clothes- I think we’re gonna need them.”

* * *

 

Dick only considered calling the search off after the third hour of Rachel climbing over thick roots and navigating around tree trunks, calling out Garfield’s name and making sure his jacket didn’t touch the muddy ground. To his credit, he lasted longer than Kory, who really was only invested for the first 45 minutes before she started to complain about the dirt caked under her nails, but even Dick could tell that it as a half-hearted excuse.

It was only when he slipped in something slicker than water but stickier than mud and when he removed his foot from the somewhat familiar substance and glanced down at the blood coating his boot that he and Kory stopped complaining and started shouting just as loud as Rachel.

The sun was high in the sky when they eventually found him, the noon-day sun beating down heavily on their backs prepared for drizzling weather and their layers were soaked with sweat and rain. His shivering body was coated in a slick layer of drying blood, eyes glazed and skin covered in a coat of green fur. Kory held him gently in her arms, not fretting about the transfer of blood to her skin as she carried him back to the safe house with ease, Rachel and Dick following worriedly behind.

He didn’t wake up the entire time, his eyes fluttered weakly beneath his eyelids and he convulsed every now and again, but as far Rachel could tell, there was nothing physically wrong with him. Occasionally, his skin would darken and he let out a deep, rumbling growl. Eventually, they had finally gotten him into the safe house, Dick kicking the door open in a spray of woodchips and immediately Kory brought him into what remained of his room and Rachel stayed with him for the rest of the night.

They were seated on the couch, Dick with his head in his hands and Kory sitting beside him rubbing his back, the muted TV playing them a background of coloured static. “He’s going to be fine,” Kory reasoned, crossing one leg over the other. “He’s strong.”

“He’s said that the tiger had been acting up recently,” Dick murmured, self-blame thick in his voice. “I should have checked up on him long before now. I should have asked how he was when we left the asylum. Not when it’s too late.”

“There’s nothing you could have done,” Kory said, trying to keep any trace of exasperation out of her words. Now was not the time. “You didn’t know. It’s not like he showed any signs of losing control.”

Dick looked as though he was about to reply but before he could open his mouth, Rachel burst through Garfield’s bedroom door and rushed into the room, face pale from using so much energy and eyes wide, breathing hard, her hands shaking minutely at her sides. “He’s awake.” She announced before returning back to the room, leaving the door slightly ajar.

When they entered the room, Garfield was sitting up against the headboard of his recently destroyed bed, his chin against his chest and his eyes fighting to stay open. A faint dusting of green fur sprouted along his cheekbones and down his arms and for some reason that not a single person could identify, his skin was still a light hue of green despite not having transformed for a few hours at least. His skin was sweaty and he was breathing hard and there was still the faint red smear of blood on his chin and down his neck from where Rachel hadn’t managed to wipe it all away. He looked up when they walked in and stared at them with detached, darkened eyes. Rachel held his hand but he didn’t seem to notice.

“Alright,” Kory was the first to break the tense silence. “I’ll bite. What the fuck just happened to you?”

Garfield took a deep, shuddering breath. “I have no idea,” he said honestly. “But what I do know is that I went to sleep in my bed and then woke up with a headache and my body aching in the mud.” He rose his hand weakly in front of his face, the simple act making it tremble. “And I’m green,” He whispered, voice pained and disorganized.

While Rachel looked at him worriedly, Kory and Dick exchanged a confused glance over his head while Garfield was too preoccupied with his shaking green fingers. “You’ve never… stayed green once you’ve changed out of the tiger?” Dick asked it as a question but he already knew the answer.

Shaking his head, Garfield bundled himself up in more blankets and hid his face in them, nothing but his eyes sticking out over the top of the pile, his green hair splayed like a sickly halo across the pillow. “Never,” he whispered and his voice was laden with fear. He looked to be on the verge of tears and Rachel ran her fingers through his hair.

“It’s going to be ok,” Rachel promised. “We’re going to find a way to change you back, and if we can’t, we’re going to make sure nothing like that ever happens again.” Garfield nodded absently, eyes glazed and deep in thought, and Rachel turned to the others. “I’ll uh, I’ll stay with him for now. I’ll let you know if anything changes.”

Dick and Kory slowly trudged their way out of the room and Dick hadn’t even closed the door behind him before he turned to Kory with tight lips. “Turn on the TV.”

She looked at him quizzically. “What?”

“Just turn it on,” He repeated as he searched for the remote but Kory found it first, jammed between the couch cushions, and switched the channel. “Turn on the news.”

Kory sent him a look of pure confusion and took in the tightness of his muscles and the twisting of his lips. “What are we looking for?” she asked eventually because she knew something was up even if she didn’t know what it was.

“An angry, out of control green tiger who hasn't been fed meat and is dormant for half the time just ran loose for a night,” Dick explained as he took the remote from Kory and began to switch between the news channels. “If what Gar said was true about him being asleep the whole time the tiger was out, then Gar couldn’t have reined it in if it went too far. I don’t think the blood he was covered in was from a random animal the tiger found in the woods. I think it went further towards the town.”

Almost like a puzzle, the final piece clicked into place in Kory’s mind. “You think that the tiger could have gone on a rampage without Gar even knowing.”

“Exactly,” Dick said. He might have said more, but the station he stopped on had a very frantic reporter on the screen, her hair mussed and her arm in a sling, eyes wide and her good hand trembling where she held the microphone to her lips. Kory took a step back from the screen as a man in a stretcher was wheeled away past the camera, bite marks in his side and blood soaking his bandages.

 _“A new development has just occurred here in our small quaint town,”_ the reporter began, voice even despite the circumstances, _“Our normally quiet suburbia has been ransacked by what could only be described as a tiger that experts say must have escaped from the local zoo and somehow managed to make its way all the way over this side of the pond or possibly used in some sort of smuggling operation utilised to transport exotic animals to and from their country of origin and experimented on for a higher price. . Many are injured and there have been at least two confirmed fatalities, four are in the hospital in critical condition and a little girl is not expected to survive. Animal control has been notified and it is requested that anyone who has any information on the tiger's whereabouts inform the council immediately.”_

The screen changed from the scared and frazzled reporter on the street corner to a shaky photo of a prowling tiger, mouth stained red with blood and even though the darkness of the photograph, it was easy to see the sheen of strange green fur.

Once the TV was switched off, the living room was quiet and much darker than it had been before. In the bedroom, Rachel was quietly talking to Garfield who was laughing under his breath and one of her purposefully stupid jokes. Dick looked at Kory. “This stays between us. Nobody else needs to find out- especially Gar.”

Kory nodded. “Not a word.”

**Author's Note:**

> I know that news report sounds stupid but I don't actually know how to write news reports. Sue me.
> 
> (Let me know if there are any tags that I should add)


End file.
